The name of the academy began in the Tang Dynasty. At first, it was the official place to revise books, proofread books and collect books. For example, Lee Jung Soo Academy (later renamed Jixian Temple Academy) was built in the 11th year of Kaiyuan reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (723). The duty of the college administrator is to "compile ancient and modern classics to learn from the national ceremonies and prepare consultants to deal with them", and at the same time, he also serves as the emperor's attendant to "doubt the meaning with historical books". In addition, some private places for reading and giving lectures in the Tang Dynasty were also called academies, such as imperial academy built in Jishui County, Jiangxi Province, which was sentenced by Tang Tong and given lectures by Liu Qinglin. Tang Chen and scholars give lectures at Songzhou Academy in Zhangzhou, Fujian; Yimen Academy, established in Dean County, Jiangxi Province, with Tang Yimen Chen Zhou living on the left, has collected thousands of books to educate scholars and children. Fengxin Academy, the place where Tang, Zhou and Zhou gave lectures.
Academy flourished in the early Song Dynasty. During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, due to years of war, official schools were abandoned, and education was maintained by private lectures. In the early Song Dynasty, the rulers were too busy with military conquest to take care of school building and teaching, so the private academy was further developed and formed an educational organization with great influence and outstanding characteristics. Zuqian of Lu Song said in Bailudong Academy: "At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Simin first appeared in five seasons, and there were few scholars. The sea is peaceful, and the style of writing is getting stronger. Confucian scholars often give lectures by mountains and forests, and the number is hundreds. Songyang, Yuelu, Suiyang and Shidong are particularly famous. The so-called four academies in the world are also the most famous academies in the early Song Dynasty. In addition to Suiyang (Yingtianfu) and Songyang, Bailudong also has Maoshan and Shigu. These academies generally developed from private seclusion to building houses, collecting books, and giving lectures; Most of them are set in secluded places in the mountains, and later generations think that they are influenced by Buddhist Zen forests.
[Yuelu Academy-one of the four major academies in the Song Dynasty]
During the Northern Song Dynasty, academies declined for a time, which was due to the rulers' efforts to set up official schools and emphasize imperial examinations in order to control education more directly. Scholars have more ways to learn, and few can become officials without passing the imperial examination. So they didn't want to stay in the mountains for a long time and lost interest in the academy, so that "the academy was abandoned until the last years of Chongning". However, the official school in the Northern Song Dynasty soon became a vassal of the imperial examination and became increasingly corrupt. Therefore, the resurgence of the style of academies in the Southern Song Dynasty is closely related to the prevalence of Neo-Confucianism. Academy has become an important base for studying and spreading Neo-Confucianism. Zhu played an important role in the revival of academies in the Southern Song Dynasty and had a far-reaching influence on the development of academies in later generations. When he was defending Nankang Army in Xichun for six years (1 179), he found the former site of Lushan Bailudong Academy and applied for reconstruction, which was successful the following year. Zhu set rules for the academy, and made systematic and detailed provisions on the purpose of the academy, the order of learning, the importance of self-cultivation, handling affairs and accepting patients. Known as the "Bailudong Academy Rules", it was followed by most academies in later generations and had a considerable impact on the development of education in feudal society in China.
[Bailudong Academy-one of the four major academies in the Song Dynasty]
The academies in Yuan Dynasty were said to be "several times the size of the world", but they were strictly controlled by the government and lacked an atmosphere of contention. Although there are many academies, they do not have the characteristics of giving lectures in academies, and are almost not much different from official schools. This is the beginning of formal study in the academy. This situation continued until the early Ming Dynasty. It was not until the period of Zheng De (1506 ~ 152 1) and Jiajing (1522 ~ 1566) that the wind of giving lectures and debating in academies flourished again. Wang Shouren, Zhan Ruoshui and their disciples had an important influence on the development of academies in Ming Dynasty. Wang Shouren said in his lecture: "The wind of the ruling and opposition parties swept through, and the gentry left behind the past, devoted themselves to giving lectures, established academies, and looked at each other from afar.". Zhan Ruoshui is a student of the famous scholar Chen Xianzhang (Baisha). Wherever he goes, he will build an academy, giving lectures and accepting disciples for more than 40 years. At this time, the academy combined academic research with lecture activities more closely, and different schools marked their purposes and expressed their opinions, which often went beyond the scope of the academy forum and developed into a large-scale regional academic activity, forming a unique "lecture" system of the academy.
Donglin Academy is the most influential and distinctive academy in the late Ming Dynasty. According to the records of Jingui County in Wuxi, "Donglin Academy, also known as Guishan Academy, is located in the southeast corner of the city, where Song gave lectures, and later became an academy." "Thirty-two years of Wanli, Gu Xiancheng and his brother discussed it. After Xian Cheng died, Gao Panlong and Ye Maocai successively took charge and listed them as Donglin Academy. " When Xian Cheng gave lectures, ... celebrities from far and near spoke in unison, and scholars from all over the world took Lin Dong as their home. " It can be seen that Donglin Academy is famous. The important feature of Donglin Academy is that it actively participated in the political activities at that time, and devoted itself to satirizing current politics and judging figures. Therefore, its reputation has been greatly improved; However, it was also banned by the rulers. "Biography of Gu Xiancheng in Ming Dynasty" said: "Besides giving lectures, we often satirize current politics and judge people. People who admire their style are far from each other, because Lin Dong is famous and has many taboos. " At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the academy was destroyed four times: the first time was in the 16th year of Jiajing (1537), when court historians visited the imperial palace and neglected management, accusing Zhan Ruoshui of "advocating evil learning, accepting rogues widely and creating academies privately". The second time was in the seventeenth year of Jiajing (1538), and Zan Xu, the official department minister, used the excuse that "the official school was not completed, which was a waste of people and money". The third time was in the seventh year of Wanli (1579). In order to rectify official management and education, Zhang described the academy as lacking practical knowledge and "collecting people's wealth". The fourth time was in the fifth year of the Apocalypse (1625), when Wei Zhongxian "demolished the world academy, starting from Lindong". The fundamental reason for the destruction of academies is the political measures taken by feudal rulers to strengthen ideological control.